James x Lily !
by imfromvenus
Summary: This fan fic would take place in Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus,... 's seventh year at Hogwarts. Lily and James feel an attraction to one another but Lily still blames James for the loss of her former best friend: Severus Snape.
1. Patronuses

Lily woke up, having dreamed about sitting in James Potter´s lap with his strong arms around her, resting her head against his muscular chest and his lips at her throat...  
She shook her head to clear it of the hazy fantasies and rolled out of bed. She got ready slowly, taking extra time with her hair. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked through the door and onto the spiral staircase. From the common room she heard a familiar voice:  
"What do you reckon, Moony?"  
It was James. Her heart jumped and she felt a big smile spread across her face. Underneath her feet, the staircase gave way and she slid down the slide headfirst and ended up on top of James, who had apparently tried to get up the stairs.  
" Evans? What happened to the stairs?" he said, ignoring the laughter of Sirius and Remus.  
"Boys aren't allowed in our dormitory, Potter" she answered, getting up quickly "Why did you want to come up anyway?"  
"I wanted to...um...talk to you" he stuttered, blushing  
"And?..." her heart was beating so fast it felt as if she couldn't breathe.  
"Well, um...the next Hogsmeade weekend is coming up and, well, I...um..."  
"He wanted to ask you to come with him for a drink" supplied Remus, earning himself a grateful look from James.  
All through this conversation, Sirius had been rolling around on the floor, laughing hysterically. James pointed his wand at him and murmured "Silencio", at the same time as Lily murmured "Petrificus totalus" and Sirius lost his ability to make a sound and to move.  
"Well, um...what about it, Eva...Lily?" asked James hopefully  
"I can't" she lied "um...prefects meeting" she improvised with a significant look at Remus who had opened his mouth to contradict her.  
"You didn't tell me that, Moony" said James, in a hurt tone  
"I forgot" he replied casually "sorry, Prongs"  
At that moment, Lily looked at the common room clock and shrieked. They had two minutes to get to class.  
"What's up, Lils?" asked James  
"We've got to get to class!"  
"Which classroom?"  
"DADA, with the Slytherins"  
They all started running towards the door, James having a wrestling match with Sirius to let Lily pass first. They made it to class just as the bell rang and sank into their seats, panting.  
"Well" said the teacher, clearing his throat, "now that you five have been kind enough to join us" he paused to glare at them, earning a chuckle from the Slytherins and making Lily and Remus blush while Sirius and James leaned back in their chairs, completely at ease, and Peter cowered under his desk "we can begin the Patronus charm!"  
A whisper went around the classroom, "Patronuses?".  
"Now, repeat after me expecto patronum"  
"Expecto patronum!" chorused the class  
"Very good, but remember that to cast the spell you have to concentrate on a happy memory" said the teacher "the happier the memory, the stronger the patronus. Now, line up in front of the blackboard"  
After a scuffle and a scraping of desks and chairs, the class was lined up in front of the blackboard.  
"You" said the teacher, pointing at James "let's see what you can do"  
James stepped forward, grinning.  
"Now a corporeal patronus, that which has a true form, is very difficult and requires several months of study..."  
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" interrupted James and a silvery stag erupted from his wand, cantered around the room, came to stop in front of its master, who patted it, and disappeared. The Gryffindors applauded and the Slytherins hissed. James grinned and his eyes darted to Lily, who was applauding too. The teacher looked astonished but soon recovered.  
"Very impressive, Mr Potter, but I'd prefer if you didn't interrupt me. Five points to Gryffindor!" he said, smiling "now, Mr Malfoy!"  
Lucius walked forward and said, with little conviction "expecto patronum". A silvery wisp came out of his wand and then faded away. Some Gryffindors chuckled, earning themselves a glare from the slytherins. Lucius blushed and strode back to his place with his nose in the air.  
"You'll need a happier memory than that, Mr Malfoy, but that was good for a first try." said the teacher "Mr Pettigrew?"  
Peter stepped forward and murmured " 'specto 'tronum"  
There was a collective gasp from the Gryffindors and a burst of laughter from the slytherins as Peter's hair turned green and let off an odour like rotting eggs.  
"Not to worry" called the teacher as he hurried forwards and set Peter right with a wave of his wand "But you should all be very careful with your spell pronounciation. Now, Miss Evans?"  
Lily stepped forward, looking very nervous an said very clearly "Expecto patronum!" causing a silvery mass to burst from her wand. The silvery mass then formed an unmistakable shape: a doe.  
"Very good, Miss Evans, but tell me, why a doe?"  
Lily was blushing furiously and didn't answer his question but he saw her glance towards James Potter, who was watching her openmouthed. The teacher nodded, he understood.  
"Well, Miss Evans, would you mind staying with me for a few minutes after the bell rings?"  
"Um...OK..." she whispered  
"Now, Mr Snape?"  
Severus stepped forward, his greasy hair covering his eyes. He looked at Lily as she passed him and she saw the pain in his eyes. The pain she was causing. For a moment, she was lost in memories of her first few years at Hogwarts: him helping her across the rocks at the riverside, the feel of his hand in her hair, his lips upon hers... But then she remembered more recent memories: him calling her a mudblood, him begging her for forgiveness outside the portrait hole, the look in his eyes when she refused to forgive him...  
"Miss Evans, could you return to your place, please?"  
Lily was pulled back into reality by the teacher's voice. Severus blinked and looked away from her. She hurried back to her place, where James was waiting for her.  
"What was THAT, Ev... Lily?" he asked  
"What was what?" she asked, feigning dumbness "Shh, Potter, I want to concentrate on this class."  
"Well, go on, Mr Snape" urged the teacher  
"Expecto patronum" muttered Severus, already knowing what would happen.  
A silvery doe burst from his wand. He vanished it quickly and strode back to his place.  
"Mr Snape, I'll be needing a word with you too, after class" said the teacher, slightly confused  
"Yes, sir" he muttered, ignoring the curious looks from his classmates.


	2. I'll always love her

"Well, well, well" said the teacher. "Mr Snape, please go and ask Mr Potter to come here"  
"Yes, sir" he murmured and strode through the door  
"Miss Evans, explain your patronus, please" ordered the teacher in a gentle voice  
"Well...sir, it's...well...it's...James...." stammered Lily, blushing  
"...Potter" finished the teacher "now, Lily, I know about teenage love, trust me, I do, but you and Mr Potter don't seem to get along that well."  
"Well, we didn't, but, he's changed...and...so have I"  
"But I imagine that Mr Snape isn't in love with Mr Potter as well"  
"No, he's not."  
"Well, do you think you can explain the form that his patronus took?"  
"Yes, I can, well you see, I'm muggle born, sir"  
"And?"  
"I didn't know I was a witch and Severus explained it all to me and we were best friends and then we went out together in fourth year..." she blushed, she couldn't believe she was explaining this to a teacher "but then in fifth year, after we took our OWLs, beside the lake, James and Sirius played a trick on Severus...Oh! They were such idiots back then!...and when I stood up for him, he called me...he called me..." and now she was crying, how pathetic was that, she thought "he called me a mudblood, so obviously I was upset with him and I ignored him for a week, even though every night he slept outside the portrait hole and begged my friends to tell me to come out to talk to him. Then, I gave up and explained to him why we couldn't be friends; we were from enemy houses, for goodness sake! He didn't take it very well, he cursed Remus, he was in the hospital wing for two weeks. But, I think he still loves me, even though we've both changed." she finished, took a deep breath and smiled, it felt good to get all that off her chest.  
"Eavesdropping is not polite, you know" said the teacher in the direction of the door, which opened and caused Severus and James to tumble in.  
"Sorry, sir" said James, leaping up and grinning at Lily  
Severus picked himself up more slowly and glanced at Lily, his eyes full of heartbreaking pain. She immediately felt guilty, but then angry, it wasn't her fault!  
Lily wiped her eyes; they were still full of tears. James walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. To his surprise, she didn't shrug it off; she took his hand and pulled his arm tighter around him. The teacher watched this exchange with understanding eyes, but then looked at Severus, who was watching too, his face full of hurt and jealousy.  
"Well, you two can go now" the teacher said in a soft voice, but he still made James and Lily jump. They walked to the door and Lily put her arm around James' waist. When they reached the door, they turned around and James said:  
"See you, sir" cheerily  
"Thanks, sir" whispered Lily  
"You're very welcome, Miss Evans, goodbye now"  
They recognized the dismissal and went out the door hurriedly. They walked down the corridor and suddenly Lily jumped.  
"We've got to get to class!" she shrieked  
"Come on, Lily" answered James "skipping never hurt me"  
"True..."  
"So come on!"  
"OK"  
"Will you walk with me around the grounds, fair lady?" asked James in a falsely formal voice, giving a bow.  
Lily giggled "but, of course, good sir" she said with a curtsey.  
James kissed her hand and they walked in silence, hand in hand, to the edge of the lake.

Meanwhile, in the classroom:  
"Mr Snape?" said the teacher  
"Yes, sir?"  
"Miss Evans explained to me, briefly, why your patronus has that specific form"  
"Yes, I heard, sir"  
"I'm sorry, Severus"  
"As am I, sir, not a day goes by when I don't think about her and regret what I said"  
"And if i may..."  
"What, sir?"  
"I'd like to give you some advice"  
"Fire away, sir"  
"Forget about her"  
"I can't" whispered Severus "believe me... I've tried" his voice shook "but I can't, I'll always love her..."


	3. Perfect in every way

Severus left the office with tears in his eyes. He walked slowly to the Slytherin common room door, cast a disilusion charm on himself and entered carefully. He didn't want to talk to anyone about his conversation with the teacher, or about the unusual form of his patronus. He hurried to his dormitory and lay down on his bed, closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to overwhelm him: Lily, holding his hand, hugging him, kissing him...

Lily and James, in the shade of the Whomping Willow, frozen by James poking a knot on the tree trunk, were enjoying each other's company. James was sitting with his back against the trunk, with Lily curled against his chest, laughing with him. He was playing with a strand of her hair, marveling at the texture and the colour of it. Lily didn't seem to have noticed, she was running her hands over James' arms, marveling at how muscular he was. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind making her sigh.  
"What's wrong?" asked James immediately, worried that Lily wasn't enjoying herself  
"Nothing, it's just that nobody's going to believe that we're, you know..."  
"What?" he already knew but just wanted to hear her say it  
"That we're going out"  
"Why not?"  
"Well, our shouting matches haven't been very private..."  
"Of course they haven't, you can really shout, Lils"  
Lily smiled and continued "and I've never really been secretive with my opinion of you"  
"Which is...?"  
"Which _was_ that you're an arrogant toerag"  
"Oh..."  
"And now is that...that..."  
"That what?" he asked, panic entering his voice  
Lily sat up and turned around so their noses were almost touching and whispered: "That you're perfect in every way"  
His lips found hers and he pulled her into a gentle kiss. To his surprise, she kissed him back, tracing his jawbone with her fingers. He knotted his fingers in her hair, deepening the kiss. After a few seconds, or it could have been hours, they were interrupted by the bell.  
"Quick" cried Lily "I'm not skipping two classes, James!"  
He chuckled and lifted her up, ignoring her demands to be released. He carried her to their next class (Charms) and set her down in the desk that Sirius usually occupied. When Sirius entered and saw Lily and James, deep in conversation, he decided that he ought to do his best friend a favour, and sat down in Lily's normal place, next to her friend, Mary. Mary blushed and giggled when Sirius sat down next to her, he was, after all, one of the most handsome and sought out boys in the year. He caught her eye and grinned, causing her to blush an even deeper red.  
"Hey, gorgeous" he murmured, he had always been a real flirt "I'm Sirius Black what's your name?"  
Mary blushed an even DEEPER red and answered "I'm Mary Green"  
"Nice to meet you, Mary Green"  
"You too, Sirius Black" she giggled  
Right then, Professor Flitwick entered the classroom and, surveying the room, stopped in his tracks, staring at James and Lily. James had chosen that moment to kiss Lily on the cheek, but she had turned her head, and he had kissed her on the lips. Lily, seeing Flitwick in the doorway, blushed scarlet and shook her head so that her hair covered her face. James looked slightly embarrassed, but, even so, waved cheerily to the shocked professor:  
"Hiya, sir, how are you?"  
Flitwick appeared to get over his surprise and replied "Very well, thank you, Mr Potter. How are you?"  
"Never been better, sir" answered James, turning to look at Lily, who still had her face covered by her red hair. He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, whispering:  
"Don't worry, Lils. So, what about that drink I asked you about earlier?" he said hopefully "Has your prefects meeting been cancelled yet?"  
"Umm...yes, it has" murmured Lily "how did you know?"  
"I have my sources" he replied, glancing towards Remus who was sitting in the seat behind him.  
"Everybody turn to page 362" interrupted Professor Flitwick "now, who can tell me the incantation used to enlarge objects?"  
James raised his hand casually and said, in a bored voice "Engorgio"  
"Five points to Gryffindor, Mr Potter" replied the professor "now, what's the counter spell to Engorgio?"  
Remus', James' , Sirius' and Lily's hands shot up. "Mr Black" said Flitwick  
"Reducio" answered Sirius with a casual flick of his wand, causing Peter's chair to shrink until he fell off.  
"Well done, Mr Black" said Professor Flitwick, returning Peter's chair to its normal size with a wave of his wand. "Five points to Gryffindor, even though I'd thank you not to cast spells in class unless asked to"  
"Sure thing, sir"  
"Now, I'd like you to take out your wands and make these" cushions appeared on every desk "small enough to fit in these bags" miniscule drawstring bags appeared on every desk "any questions?"


End file.
